Blown Away
by mArTiNaMcBrIdErOx91
Summary: "shatter every window 'til it's all blown away, every brick every board every slamming door blown away" -Carrie Underwood. Eleven year old Cricket around the time her parent's split up. Will she be able to cope with the aftermath?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Well, this is yet another Cricket story. She's my favorite to write if you haven't figured that out yet. This is her life around when she's in junior high. Deals with what happened around the time her parents separated. Hope you guys enjoy! Please leave me a review and let me know! **

**CRICKET'S HOUSE**

**SATURDAY AFTERNOON **

**2PM**

Cricket was in her room reading, she sighed when she heard the announcer on her father's TV say that it was almost time for the Cowboys to kick off. Her dad always watched the game so loud so he could hear it in all parts of the house if he had to get up to do something.

She wanted to watch something else on TV for once, but she knew that asking her father to change the channel during any football game was something that was never done. She started watching the games with him, to try to act interested. At first she'd used the excuse that she wanted to be a cheerleader, so she was only watching the games to see how they danced and if she could learn anything from them.

Her mom liked the idea, and encouraged her to come spend time with them while they watched the game. Her father grumbled and was once again disappointed in Cricket, for the sole reason of being his daughter.

The eleven year old made her way to the top of the stairs and heard her mother screaming, "Can't you just let your daughter watch this with you for once? Without saying anything to hurt her?"

The man sighed, "she wants to be a cheerleader, it's the only reason she watches the game… "

"No, Clint, she watches the game so she can spend time with you, you've made it clear you don't approve of anything else she does so she tries to find some sort of interest in what you like" her mom yells, Cricket just sighed, her mom was right. He only showed up at her dance recitals and cheer competitions because it was the right thing to do, and he didn't want any speculations as to why Clint Caruth wasn't supporting his daughter.

She knew he would show a lot more interest in the things she did if she were a boy and played football, or baseball or something like that. But there wasn't anything she could do about it. She just tried and tried to find something to please her father.

"what good is gonna come from prancing around on stage in a tutu or waving pom-poms in someone's face? She's all I've got to keep the business in the family, and at this rate she won't be ready" the man yelled, unaware that his daughter as at the top of the staircase, and even though the game could be heard through the house, she could still hear him, and some tears started escaping.

She quit piano lessons because her dad told her over and over they were useless, and her momma had started taking pills, so she didn't care much either. She'd heard enough of her parent's argument, and went back to her room and shut the door.

A few minutes later there was a knock, they had a live in nanny, but Cricket wasn't sure if it was the nanny or her father. "go away" she whimpered.

It was her nanny, the brunette woman sighed, she knew the preteen had heard her parents fighting if she wouldn't let anyone in. "Cricket, It's Samantha.."

"go away" the young girl whimpered again. She was trying to calm herself down so her father wouldn't see that she'd been upset, and if she let Samantha in all of her emotions would come out.

Samantha wasn't exactly sure why Clint Caruth had hired her to be the nanny for his daughter. The young woman had come to learn that Delilah Caruth had been taking pills, and sometimes was high as a kite when Cricket came home from school so Clint wanted someone there to watch out for his young daughter.

Cricket never talked to Samantha about her mom, or really anyone for that matter. The nanny wasn't sure if the preteen even knew about her mom's addiction. "come on, Cricket…"

The black haired girl slowly opened the door to find her nanny standing there, she didn't understand why she had a nanny, her momma stayed home all day and her daddy sometimes stayed at work late, but not really. She hung her head, she'd been crying and didn't want anyone to see, her dad had said something about crying being a sign that she was weak.

Samantha sighed, she didn't understand Clint's resentment towards his daughter, and tried to fill in some of the gaps that he and Delilah had left.

"what do you want?" Cricket asked, struggling to keep her voice steady.

"just to talk, you know whatever your daddy says about showin emotions doesn't apply when you're around me" Samantha reminded her, she'd given Cricket the option to come to her whenever she wanted to cry, or just to vent about anything.

The eleven year old sighed, she couldn't understand why Samantha let her show emotions. It was starting to confuse her and she'd started getting to a point where she didn't show any at all. "there's nothin to say"

"I saw you standin at the top of the stairs earlier, did you hear your daddy?" the young woman asked.

Cricket's lip trembled as she nodded. She wasn't sure what to feel about the things her father said. She couldn't exactly pinpoint any of her feelings anymore. She turned away, she didn't want the woman to see her cry, she hated other people seeing that.

There was more screaming downstairs, and it wasn't her father screaming because the Cowboys had scored, it was a fight, the words were muffled and Samantha shut Cricket's door so she didn't have to hear whatever her parents were arguing about. Samantha often heard Clint and Delilah arguing late at night after Cricket had gone to bed, but wasn't sure if it had ever woken the young girl up.

She went over to the preteen and squeezed her shoulders. "does all their fightin scare ya?"

Cricket shrugged, she didn't really know what she was scared of, she couldn't figure it out. "dunno"

Samantha rubbed the young girl's shoulders to try to get her to calm down, she could tell Delilah had been taking pills again because of the way she was talking. Cricket had never heard her father scream as loud as he did when he screamed at her mom this time, Samantha held Cricket so that one ear was on her chest and the woman had a hand over the other. The black haired girl trembled slightly in her nanny's arms as Clint screamed and screamed about how her mom needed to stop doing something.

The nanny whispered calming words into the young girl's ear as Clint screamed at his wife to stop using, she didn't want the preteen to find out that her mom was a drug addict. There were some door slams and then the football game went back to full volume.

Cricket continued to tremble and cling to her nanny, she thought that her mom had left. At least her mom still showed interest in the things she did, and took her to dance class, and cheerleading. She even loved doing Cricket's hair for everything. The woman just held her and told her that things were going to be okay.

Downstairs in the master bedroom, Delilah was livid, she didn't understand why her husband resented their daughter so much. The kid just wanted her father to show some love, and it hurt her so much.

She tried and tried to reason with him that Cricket would one day be perfectly ready and able to take over the family business, and do just as good of a job as any boy would. Even though he came to all of her events, he showed very little interest and Delilah got so mad every time and told him that eventually their daughter would just give up if he continued doing that.

She needed something to calm her down before she did something stupid. She opened their medicine cabinet to find it empty except for her husband's things. She remembered there was some medicine left from when Cricket was sick about a month ago and went upstairs to the bathroom. She searched through the cabinets and finally found what she wanted and didn't even care how much she took, or that she was in her daughter's bathroom.

She started swallowing the pills one by one, and began to lose count after about five. She stayed that way until the whole bottle was gone and just sat there, unable to really move much or keep her eyes open. She just hoped the nanny found her, and not Cricket, but she would never know.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Well, this is yet another Cricket story. She's my favorite to write if you haven't figured that out yet. This is her life around when she's in junior high. Deals with what happened around the time her parents separated. Hope you guys enjoy! Please leave me a review and let me know! **

**CRICKET'S HOUSE**

**LATER THAT NIGHT **

**11PM **

For several hours Delilah had been passed out on the bathroom floor. Cricket sometimes shared a bathroom with Samantha after her parents fought, because her mom would come in and use hers to stay away from her husband.

Samantha had finally gotten Cricket to calm down and fall asleep, but it was a very restless one because a storm was coming in and the thunder startled the young girl. "come to me if ya get too scared, alright" the woman reminded her as she tucked her in.

Cricket just nodded, and rolled over away from her window. Samantha sighed and sat with Cricket for a few minutes, she didn't understand why Clint couldn't do this, it would help Cricket so much to have her father tuck her into bed at least one night a week.

The thunder grew louder and louder but Samantha left Cricket's room when she decided the girl was definitely asleep. She went to get cleaned up but stopped when she realized that Delilah had come upstairs to Cricket's bathroom but had never left.

Samantha went to Clint to tell him that Cricket was sleeping and he should maybe check on her. She also told him that Delilah had been in Cricket's bathroom since the fight and hadn't come out.

Clint was angry. He stormed up the stairs as the house shook with the thunder, he checked to make sure his daughter's door was closed before pounding on the bathroom door. He figured the storm outside would distract the noises that Cricket might hear. "DELILAH" the man screamed.

There was no response, only a crack of thunder and pouring rain. The door was unlocked so he opened it up to find his wife laying on the floor with an empty pill bottle on the counter. He knelt down and shook her, "GET UP"

She didn't even flinch, not even when there was a big clap of thunder and bright lightening. Clint sighed and felt for a pulse, he got nothing. He had no idea how long his wife had been practically dead on the floor and told Samantha to call an ambulance.

Samantha sighed and did what she was told, afraid the sirens and the storm would wake up the preteen that was sleeping in the next room. Ten minutes later and the ambulance showed up, and Samantha took them to where Delilah was. She sighed when a very sleepy Cricket was rubbing her eyes and standing at the top of the stairs. "I don't need a doctor…" she yawned.

Samantha had to laugh, "I know sweetie, just go back to bed, alright"

"what's goin on?" Cricket yawned.

"I'll tell ya in the mornin, just go sleep" the woman reassured the young girl, and started to help her back to bed.

Cricket sighed and slowly made her way towards her bedroom, but she saw her father. "daddy Bo?"

"go do what Samantha said and go back to bed" the man said, sighing. He didn't want his daughter seeing her mom passed out.

Cricket jumped when the house shook with thunder again, "but the storm keeps shakin my window…"

The man sighed when the two paramedics came out of the bathroom with a dead Delilah on a gurney, in a body bag. Cricket turned towards them, "Momma?" she questioned.

One paramedic felt bad for the little girl, she seemed confused and probably didn't understand what was going on. He continued following his partner out and placing the flat gurney back on the wheels so they could bring it out to the ambulance. Cricket was now more awake and realized what was happening, she ran down the stairs into the pouring rain screaming, "MOMMA!"

The big clap of thunder did nothing to phase the preteen who was now soaked and shivering as she watched the paramedics slam the door and drive away. Cricket chased after the ambulance to the end of the street but just stopped when it turned the corner. She was confused, she had no idea where they were taking her mom and why she was in a black bag.

She sunk to the sidewalk and felt her thick curls sticking to her neck, and her legs became soaked with rainwater. She just cried, she figured that nobody would know she was crying since it was raining so hard.

Back inside Samantha was angry, why hadn't Clint done anything to help his daughter or explain what was going on, now the young girl was outside in the storm. "CLINT!" she screamed, when he was making his way to the car to head to the hospital.

"let her stay out there. It'll teach her to run off like that" he snapped, he didn't know why his daughter did what she did, and he wasn't going to have anything to do with it.

"seriously? She's confused, alone, and probably scared. It's nearly a tornado out there and you just want her to stay in that mess?" The nanny screamed. She was about to go out in the storm herself to find Cricket and try to comfort her and explain things.

"she'll come back. I'm going to the hospital." he said, slamming the door.

He slowly drove down the street, part of him was worried about where his daughter had ventured out to, he thought maybe she'd follow the ambulance. His headlights hit something orange huddled up by the stop sign at the end of his street. He slowed down and as he got closer he realized it was his daughter. He didn't think his heart could hurt as much as it did when he saw the eleven year old shaking and curled up in a ball, drenched from the pouring rain. He knew he had to do something, he couldn't leave the young girl out like this, people would talk.

He stopped the car a few feet from the stop sign, grabbed an umbrella and got out. He made his way up to Cricket and knelt down, "Cricket…."

She just whimpered and shivered. He hoped they'd give her something at the hospital to help her warm up. He put a hand on her back, her t-shirt was soaked and sticking to her skin, and she was just cold. "it's daddy" he calmly said.

"go away" she sighed, trying to hold back tears because she knew crying in front of him was wrong.

"you can't stay out in this storm like this, there's tornado watches out and I don't want anything happenin to ya" Clint explained, he was still unsure how he was going to explain that her mom overdosed. He thought maybe the doctor could help him, and would be able to do it on terms that she would understand.

She shivered when a loud crash of thunder shook the area around them and scooted closer to her father. She knew her dad was right, storms freaked her out and she wanted to be back home and in dry clothes.

"momma…" she mumbled. She was still so confused about what had happened. She thought her mom was just fine and healthy.

Clint sighed, and gave his daughter's shoulder a gentle squeeze, "come with me, and I'll take you to see her"

Cricket continued to shiver and decided that she needed to take advantage of her dad being so nice. Clint stood up and offered a hand to his daughter, to help her up. She looked absolutely miserable, he just hoped the doctors at the hospital would understand. He told her to get in the car and drove to the hospital. She shivered the whole way and he felt bad that he had nothing to give her to help her warm up.

He dragged Cricket inside with him and told the receptionist that they needed to meet with the medical examiner. The receptionist nodded and told him where to go. When they got to the floor, he told Cricket to sit in a seat in the waiting room and he went to find the medical examiner.

Meanwhile in the waiting room a nurse noticed Cricket sitting by herself shivering, and completely terrified. The woman heard Clint yelling at the medical examiner about the cause of a woman's death and she put some pieces together that the young girl was related to whoever had died. The redheaded woman went up to Cricket and knelt down by her, "hi, I'm Beth, can you tell me your name?"

Cricket continued to shiver, and just shook her head no. She didn't know who this woman was and didn't want to tell her anything about what had happened. Beth realized that Cricket was probably confused and just needed some answers. "it's okay, I'm a nurse, and I bet I could help ya figure out what's goin on" she calmly said to the preteen.

Cricket pulled herself into an even tighter ball, she was cold, and wet. She wanted out of her clothes that were sticking to her and she wanted her matted curls out of her face. The woman sighed, she thought that maybe Cricket had seen something bad happen and was too traumatized to talk. Beth took a risk and decided to talk to the man arguing with the medical examiner. She smiled at Cricket, "I'll be right back, okay…"

The young girl just nodded as the woman got up and approached Clint. "sir, is that your daughter in the waiting room?" she asked.

He sighed, "yes… why?"

"can you tell me what happened? she's soaking wet, and I might be able to help her get dried off" the nurse asked, hoping he wouldn't bite her head off.

Clint sighed, "her mom overdosed, and obviously she died, since we're in the morgue. But as for my daughter, she saw us bringing her mom out to the ambulance and ran down the street after it…" he knew honesty was better than creating some web of lies, and he didn't want people finding out what really happened later.

"would it be okay if I took her to the pediatric floor, got her dried off and let her spend some time in the playroom while you dealt with this?" the nurse asked.

"that's fine. I was sort of hoping I could get her out of her wet clothes and into something a little warmer. She doesn't know what really happened, is there someone that could explain it to her in a way she'd understand?" the man asked, he didn't think he would be able to explain this to his daughter. He would just use the blunt words, to get the point across. But he knew Cricket might not know what an addiction or an overdose was.

"I can talk to one of our social workers, or one of our child life specialists, they would be able to work with her and use terms that are on her level" the nurse explained.

"we don't need social workers in this. Just have the child life person do what they need to, I guess I need to have the medical examiner explain to them what happened" Clint said, sighing.

"yeah, I'll page the one that's on call right now. She can meet with your daughter in the playroom and explain things" Beth suggested.

"thanks, I'll come tell my daughter what the plan is." He said, sighing.

The woman nodded as she watched Clint try to explain to Cricket that the child life specialist was going to tell her what had happened, in a way she could understand so she didn't have to hear all of the big confusing doctor words.

Clint let Cricket go with the nurse to get cleaned up. She'd been given a pair of warm hospital pajamas to wear and the nurse brushed her curls out and pulled them up into a bun. Beth took Cricket into the playroom and told her that she could play until the child life specialist came in. The young girl just nodded, and curled up on a bean bag chair. The only thing she knew was that she was glad to be out of her wet clothes, and she was starting to warm up. But she dreaded what the person coming to talk to her had to say, she didn't want to know.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Well, this is yet another Cricket story. She's my favorite to write if you haven't figured that out yet. This is her life around when she's in junior high. Deals with what happened around the time her parents separated. Hope you guys enjoy! Please leave me a review and let me know! **

**HOSPITAL – CHILDREN'S PLAYROOM**

**12:15AM **

Cricket was curled up on the beanbag chair and cuddled into a blanket the nurse had given her. She was starting to doze off since the storm had let up and she was exhausted. The door opened and a blond woman came in carrying a file folder. The child life specialist sighed when she saw the little black haired girl huddled in a corner alone.

She picked up a stuffed teddy bear and made her way to Cricket. She knelt down and smiled, "hi, I'm Kimberly…"

Cricket just looked up at her and yawned. She wasn't sure what all this woman knew and thought she wouldn't be able to understand half of what she said, especially if it was in doctor words.

"your dad told me your name was Cricket, am I right?' the woman asked, hoping she'd be able she'd get the preteen to open up.

Cricket just nodded. She didn't know what she was supposed to say. She yawned again, talking to this woman wasn't something she wanted to do, but knew that she had to, since her dad apparently set this up. "why are you here?" she asked.

"your daddy wanted me to explain what's happening in a way that you'd understand. I'm not gonna use any of those big doctor words that you might not know" Kimberly explained.

Cricket just nodded. She didn't know if she should tell the woman what she saw or where she should start. She wanted to cry, but she knew it wasn't right to cry in public.

Kimberly put her folder down and sat on the floor. She smiled at Cricket, "I wanna start by you tellin me what you saw, so I can explain it to ya"

Cricket took in a breath, "it was rainin really bad, I couldn't sleep. I heard daddy screamin at my momma to get up. I guess she wouldn't cuz then I heard sirens, then these two guys came up and carried her outside and put her in an ambulance…"

She looked away from the woman because the tears were stinging her eyes. Kimberly sighed and offered the young girl the teddy bear. Cricket took it and clung to it. The woman could hear the confusion in the preteen's voice and decided she needed some answers.

"it sounds like you're missin a lot of what happened, and you're confused about all this, huh…" the blond calmly said, watching Cricket squeeze the teddy bear.

The black haired girl just yawned and shrugged, was she confused? She didn't know. Her feelings didn't mean anything at home so she wasn't sure how to describe them to other people. She didn't really know how to respond to the woman's question, so she just squeezed the bear tight.

Kimberly could tell she had a lot to explain, Cricket had been kept in the dark a lot about what was really going on with her mom and it was just now coming out, at a really bad time. "your mom was sick Cricket, did you know that?"

"she didn't seem sick to me…" the girl answered. Kimberly sighed, this meant Cricket knew nothing about her mom's addiction.

Kimberly thought for a minute and tried to figure out how to explain an addiction. "do you know what it means when someone is addicted to something?"

Cricket sat there and thought for a few minutes, she thought she'd heard the word at school before. "I think so…" she quietly replied.

"what do you think it means?" Kimberly asked.

"isn't that like when somebody does something too much and they can't stop…. Like video games?" the preteen asked. Kimberly smiled, she knew the girl was at the age where some of her friends could possibly have that problem.

"that's right. Your momma had an addiction, but instead of video games, it was to medicine. She would take it even if she wasn't feeling sick." The woman explained, she watched as Cricket's face went straight. The preteen seemed to show no emotions as she explained this.

"is that what made her not get up?" Cricket asked, trying to put the pieces together.

"yeah, it is. You know how some medicines can make you sleepy, or make your stomach hurt after you take them?" Kimberly asked.

Cricket nodded, she'd been sick recently and the medicine her doctor gave her made her tired.

"well the kind your momma took can make you sleepy. She took too much, and the doctors tried to get her to wake up, but she didn't." Kimberly explained.

"will she ever wake up?" Cricket asked, she was still confused as to why her momma was in a black bag, and she hadn't seen her yet.

Kimberly sighed, "no, Cricket, she won't."

This was the first time Kimberly saw any sort of emotion from the young girl, big glassy tears formed in the preteen's eyes.

Meanwhile, Clint was watching through the window, he wished he could tell his daughter that her mom died. He couldn't handle the emotions, which is another reason why he wished he had a boy. Now he was stuck with Cricket, and no chance for a son. They'd ruled Delilah's death an overdose and things had already been cleared with the police.

He saw his daughter's blue eyes fill with tears and that's when he knew those words had been said. He didn't want to ruin the conversation by going in the room but he knew his little girl needed him, though he just couldn't bring himself to allow her get close. He'd always let Delilah deal with her emotions, especially when she cried. Now he hoped Samantha would be able to fill some of that so he didn't have to.

Back inside the room Cricket was crying. She tried not to but she couldn't stop herself. She didn't know what she would do without her momma, "so… so… she's dead?" the black haired girl asked.

Kimberly squeezed Cricket's hand and nodded, "yeah, she is. I'm really sorry Cricket"

The young girl couldn't contain her tears and Clint cursed under his breath, there was no way he could deal with a crying eleven year old all night and into the wee hours of the morning.

The preteen got up, and ran. Out of the room, to the elevator and back to the first floor. She ran outside and even though things were still wet, it wasn't raining. She sunk down on a bench and cried. She probably got lots of looks because she was in hospital pajamas, but she didn't care. A few minutes later her father came down with the same teddy bear in his hands. He sat next to her, "Crick…"

"why didn't I know?" she whimpered.

He sighed, "you were too young, no one knew about momma. I know I told you that you could see her. do you still want to?"

"but she's dead…." Cricket cried. She didn't understand how she could see her mom if she wasn't alive.

"we don't have to hon, we can just go home" Clint suggested.

His daughter nodded and yawned. He handed her the teddy bear, he was smart and already paid everything at the hospital, and the nurse told him not to worry about the pajamas. He lead his daughter to the car and helped her in the back seat. She clutched the teddy bear and looked at the hospital through the window as they drove away. She didn't even get to talk to her momma after the fight, and the last thing she'd told her mom was that she wanted macaroni instead of grilled cheese for lunch. She'd decided she'd never eat macaroni again, and that wouldn't change.

**THREE DAYS LATER**

**HILLSIDE PARK MEMORIAL CHURCH**

Cricket fought hard to get out of going to her mother's funeral. She didn't want to see her friends there with their moms, nor did she want them trying to be nice. She lost this argument and hid the tears that threatened to fall.

Her nanny had helped her pick out a knee length black dress and a pair of Mary Janes. She curled the thick black hair and let it hang loose to just below her shoulders. She met her father downstairs and he gave the eleven year old a small smile. He knew this wouldn't be easy for her. He sighed when she was holding the teddy bear by its paw and gave him the saddest eyes he'd ever seen. He couldn't say no, so he let her bring the stuffed animal.

She followed him to the limo, which took them to the church. She didn't say a word, just stared out the window. She reluctantly got out of the car, still clutching the paw of the teddy bear, and her daddy took her other hand, to guide her to the church.

Cricket hung her head as she saw her friends, she couldn't talk to them now. Clint greeted the adults and tried to get Cricket to do the same. There were a few kids there, but not many. Among them were Blake Reilly, Amanda Stopper and her sister, Ashley, who the pastor had asked to sing, since she had one of the best voices at the church, and was only ten. Cricket didn't want to talk to any of her friends, so she quietly walked away from her dad over to a table, and sat down.

Ashley walked up to her and sat on the other end of the table, "hey" She was Amanda's younger sister, and since she was in the grade below Cricket and Amanda she didn't really know the girl that well.

"hi…" Cricket mumbled.

"I'm sorry about your momma" the strawberry blond said, giving Cricket a small smile.

Cricket just sighed, "don't talk about it…." she knew this was rude, but she thought she had an excuse.

Ashley's mom, Elizabeth Stopper saw the young girl trying to talk to Cricket and sighed, she went over to the table and told her daughter to go talk to Blake and her sister. She sat down in the abandoned seat and smiled at Cricket.

"your daddy wanted me to check on ya, you doin alright?" the woman calmly asked. The eleven year old just shrugged, but Elizabeth sighed, no eleven year old would be okay at their mother's funeral.

Cricket hugged her teddy bear, she wanted a hug from her momma, but would never get another. She glanced off at the big picture of Delilah that was displayed near the entrance. Her blue eyes filled with tears again but she blinked them back and took in a shaky deep breath.

Elizabeth looked over at Clint and gave him a look that said his daughter was barely hanging in there. Before any more words could be said, Clint came over and whispered to Elizabeth that it was time for the service. His daughter slowly jumped down from the chair and followed close by her father into the church.

She sat straight faced throughout the entire service and so did her father. Once they reached the burial grounds Cricket was about ready to let her tears fall but she knew crying in public was wrong. Elizabeth was a little concerned that the young girl hadn't shed a single tear at the entire service. But she could tell they were threatening to spill.

As they were lowering her mother's casket into the ground the tears finally spilt from Cricket's blue eyes and her father just sighed, and gave her shoulder a squeeze. She couldn't tell if this was an angry squeeze or a gentle one, trying to comfort her. He would squeeze her shoulder if she were to cry in public, to get her to stop, so to others it just looked like he was trying to soothe her.

The funeral was over and Cricket just wanted to lock herself in her room. She wanted to be as far from the gravesite as possible, and away from the other moms trying to be so nice to her. She was planning on sleeping the rest of the day, but hated to find out that some family and close friends would be at the house all afternoon. She just couldn't face them right now.

**A/N: I hope you guys are liking this story! It was a random idea inspired by the Carrie Underwood song, Blown Away. I want to know your ideas, I'm willing to work with them. Please review! **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Well, this is yet another Cricket story. She's my favorite to write if you haven't figured that out yet. This is her life around when she's in junior high. Deals with what happened around the time her parents separated. Hope you guys enjoy! Please leave me a review and let me know! **

**TWO WEEKS LATER  
****ELIZABETH STOPPER'S HOUSE  
****FRIDAY AFTERNOON**

Cricket had been struggling to cope with the death of her mother. She didn't know when she could go to her father for comfort. He seemed to be nice to her at the hospital and the funeral, but now he was getting cold and just ignoring her. She didn't get it, some times she just wanted to sit with him but he would make up some reason that she couldn't.

She started spending most of her time after school at her friend Amanda's house. Her parents were really nice to her, and they let her talk about what she wanted. Her dad didn't seem to care because he was friends with Amanda's dad and knew his daughter wouldn't do anything stupid there.

Amanda had a younger sister, she seemed to be nice to Cricket, though she was a little young to understand what had happened. Elizabeth and Troy started doing what they could to help the preteen cope because they quickly realized that her father wasn't.

Cricket was sitting in Amanda's room and Full House was on, but she wasn't really watching it. Amanda's little sister came in and smiled, "whatcha doin?"

Amanda gave her little sister a mean look but Cricket smiled, "watchin' TV…."

Ashley looked at the TV and smiled when she saw DJ Tanner on the screen, walked into the room, and sat on the bed next to Cricket. Amanda was going through dresses in her closet because there was a pageant the next weekend and she couldn't decide. Elizabeth was a pageant coach and a lot of Amanda's friends had started doing the pageants because apparently the girls Elizabeth coached were known for being confident. Cricket was one of the few who stayed away from the pageants, mainly because of her father.

Amanda came out of her closet holding a green dress with some sparkles on it, "Crick, this or the pink one?"

"green" the eleven year old said, sounding very monotone.

"I like the pink one. Cricket, you should do a pageant" Ashley said, sounding more excited than the older girl.

"I don't feel like it. Daddy Bo would say no anyways." she said, still focused on the TV.

"momma says Stopper girls are about confidence, I don't think he'd have a problem with that" the strawberry blond girl replied, trying to convince her friend to join in.

Cricket sighed, she didn't understand why her dad had a problem with girly things. She tried to do things like dance and cheerleading but he seemed to show no interest, her momma always took care of those things, and her momma would probably love for her to do a pageant. She never got to ask though, afraid of the fight that would occur, she hated the one that happened when she asked to join cheerleading with Amanda. She felt her eyes fill up with tears and blinked a few times to get rid of them.

"I'm just not gonna do it. it's not worth it" she told her friend, who obviously didn't understand the situation.

"I could have my momma talk to him about it" Ashley said, she was obviously just trying to get her friend to have fun. Cricket had been moping around their house for a while and not doing much of anything.

"forget it . I'm not gonna do the pageant" Cricket said, getting up. She felt like crying and didn't want to in front of her friends.

She walked out of her friend's room and down stairs. She stopped when she saw the case with Amanda and Ashley's trophies and crowns from previous pageants. She sighed, she wanted to do a pageant, but didn't know how to ask her dad.

Ashley had gone to her mom and the redheaded woman smiled when her ten year old sat next to her, "hey kiddo"

"hey momma"

"what's up?" the woman asked, she could tell the little girl wanted to talk about something.

"I think Cricket wants to do a pageant…" she said with a smile.

"did you talk to her?" Elizabeth asked, she wasn't sure if a pageant was something the young girl was ready for.

"yeah, she said somethin about Daddy Bo not lettin her and it wasn't worth it" the ten year old explained.

Elizabeth sighed. She didn't understand what was really going on over at the Caruth house, and was going to find out sooner or later. "she's still sad about her momma, but I'll talk to her, alright"

"will you talk her daddy into lettin her do it? I don't think she's asked him yet" the strawberry blond asked.

"I'll get it figured out kiddo, just don't bug Cricket about it too much, alright"

Ashley went back to her room and Elizabeth got up, she wanted to talk to Cricket, because it was obvious that the preteen was still struggling. She found the black haired girl standing by the glass case that displayed the crowns and trophies. She sighed, she knew the girl was trying to figure out the pageant thing. "hey"

Cricket sighed, "hi Mrs. Stopper…"

"do you wanna do a pageant?" the woman asked, knowing that beating around the bush wouldn't get much out of the young girl.

The preteen shrugged, "dunno" if her momma were still alive she probably would have agreed already, but she was struggling to figure out who would do her hair and makeup, she'd seen Amanda's pictures and there was no way she could do that herself. She could barely manage her hair because it was so frizzy and unruly.

"I think it'd be good for you" Elizabeth said, smiling.

"daddy Bo won't let me" the young girl said, letting her shoulders drop.

"have you asked him?" the woman asked, trying not to sound too concerned.

"no. I'm done trying new things." She flatly told the redheaded woman, she didn't want her daddy to get mad at her anymore.

"ya know, being a Stopper girl would be about having confidence, and I think your daddy would like that" Elizabeth explained.

Cricket shrugged, "I wouldn't look that good anyways" her hair was impossible to do, and her daddy had fired the nanny simply out of anger, because she got mad at him for ignoring his daughter when she was upset.

"sure you would, you don't have to do it alone, I can help you" the woman reassured her, she decided she probably should teach Cricket how to do something to her hair that was simple enough so it wasn't just a frizzed mess.

The girl just shrugged again, "I guess…." The fear wasn't in the pageant it's self, it was more of asking her dad for money, a dress, and all the other things that came with the pageant.

Elizabeth smiled, "I'll talk to your daddy about it, don't you worry. Now, I bet you'd like to know how to do somethin to your hair before school, huh…."

The girl nodded, she hated her hair, she sometimes got picked on because she had a frizzy mess while all her other friends had pretty hair, because they had their mommas to do it.

Elizabeth smiled at the eleven year old, and led her into the master bathroom. She instructed the girl to take a shower, and wash her hair. After Cricket finished and got dressed again she sat on the side of the big bathtub, with her long, wet tangled hair hanging to her back. She usually just left it like that, since she had never been taught differently.

The redheaded woman had naturally curly hair herself, so she knew enough to tame the young girl's long tangles. She told her to sit on the stool as she gently combed through the matted hair. Cricket tried to hide tears, she missed having her mom do her hair, it actually looked really pretty every time.

About ten minutes later the woman smiled, "see, doesn't it feel better when you brush all the tangles out?"

The girl just nodded, and sighed when Elizabeth started to blow dry her hair. twenty more minutes passed and Cricket had to smile, her hair was the smoothest it'd been since her mom died, and she actually felt better. The woman had turned on her curling iron and styled the girl's hair.

Cricket actually smiled a real smile because her hair actually did what she liked it to do, it hung in loose curls to right below her shoulders, and was shiny instead of a frizzy, tangled mess. She thanked the woman but knew she could never replicate the beautiful curls that framed her face.

"if you try brushin your hair after you shower it'll help make it not so frizzy. But if you're here and you want me to help ya just let me know." The woman told her.

The young girl just nodded, and played with a fresh curl. Elizabeth turned off her curling iron, sat it aside and knelt down next to Cricket so she was at her level, "now, why don't we try a pageant. I can help you talk to your daddy, and I'll take care of everything"

Cricket shrugged, she'd be the only one without her mom there, and she wasn't used to it yet. "does it have to be this one that Ashley keeps talking about?" the girl asked, sounding a little scared.

"no darlin, I bet pageants are the last thing on your mind right now, huh…" the woman calmly replied.

Cricket nodded, people at school were beginning to find out her mom died, and she was still having a hard time dealing with it. She couldn't really sleep, since the terrible memories of her mother in the body bag replay in her mind every single night.

Elizabeth was beginning to notice that Cricket liked to shield her emotions, she wouldn't show if she was upset, scared or hurt. She felt like she needed to pry a little to see how the girl was really feeling. "are ya still missin your momma?"

She sighed when the preteen's eyes filled with glassy tears, and she looked away. She knew she figured out what was bothering the young girl. She put a gentle hand on the preteen's shoulder, "that's okay, you have every right to miss her. and those tears, they don't have to hide"

Cricket sighed, she was a little confused, she couldn't figure out why her daddy hated when she cried, but Amanda's parents didn't care, they always said it was okay, and were nice to her about it. She brought her sleeve of her dress up to her eye to hide the fact that one tear had gotten loose. "but I thought I… never mind…" she started, but got up and went out to their back yard. She really wanted to cry, but she knew crying in front of others was wrong.

She nearly ran into Amanda's dad as she went out the back door, and he started to go after her because he could tell she was upset, but Elizabeth stopped him and told him the girl just needed a few minutes to herself. She'd explained that she was getting worried about the way Cricket showed her emotions, and that they needed to keep an eye on her.

"let me try, she's barely hangin on, and I want to see if she'll open up to me" the man said, giving his wife a smile.

Elizabeth nodded, found Cricket's teddy bear sitting by her backpack and sighed, the girl had become attached the stuffed animal, and sometimes clung to it like it was the only thing she had left, usually late at night. She handed the brown bear to her husband "this little guy usually helps, and I'm pretty sure she wants it right now"

He smiled, took the bear, and nodded. He took a deep breath and headed out to his back yard, where the little girl was sitting on a swing, slowly pushing herself. He just knew they had a lot to work on with her, but she needed their support.

**A/N: So a friend told me that in the book, Amanda actually has a sister. I figured that giving her one in this fic would make things better and more interesting. Oh, and in the pilot, Amanda's mom decides that 'grandma' is too old, so she insists that the kids call her Gigi, hence, why her name is Elizabeth in this. **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Well, this is yet another Cricket story. She's my favorite to write if you haven't figured that out yet. This is her life around when she's in junior high. Deals with what happened around the time her parents separated. Hope you guys enjoy! Please leave me a review and let me know! **

**ELIZABETH STOPPER'S HOUSE **

**FRIDAY AFTERNOON**

Cricket was sitting outside on the swing crying and pushing herself just enough to make the swing go off the ground. She saw Amanda's dad come outside holding her teddy bear. She chose to ignore him because she didn't want him to see her tears. He came and sat in the other swing next to her. "hey Cricket."

She sighed, and knew she couldn't ignore the man so she slowed the swing to a stop and watched her feet shuffle in the sand underneath. "hi…"

"how're you doin?" the man asked, smiling at the young girl, although he knew she probably couldn't see him.

She sighed, and sniffled, he couldn't hear her tears and she was desperately trying to get rid of them. "okay…"

"I brought a little somethin out here that might make you feel a little better" he said, showing her the brown teddy bear. She grabbed it from him and squeezed it. Troy smiled and sighed, he was also really worried about what went on while she was just at home with her dad.

Cricket looked away and rubbed the bear's paw along her eyes, to wipe away the tears. Troy put a gentle hand on the preteen's back, "it's okay if you wanna cry kiddo"

She sighed, she couldn't decide what was expected of her anymore, was she allowed to cry because of what had just happened, or was it wrong to show any emotions. She sniffled, and brought the bear paw to her eye again. "I… dunno"

Troy sighed, he remembered how she struggled to contain her emotions at the funeral and keep a straight face. He wondered if her father had told her that showing emotions was wrong, and he started to believe that was true. "what don't you know kiddo?"

She just couldn't tell her friend's dad that she was confused. She thought she'd sound stupid if she did tell him. She shrugged, "if I can cry…." She hated herself for saying that but couldn't stop the words from coming out. She felt the big wet beads come to her eyes and tried to blink them back.

Troy just rubbed her back, he knew she'd probably cried a lot and was getting tired of it. she just needed to cope with what had happened, and Troy didn't think Clint was giving her any real attention or helping her through it. "just let it out Cricket, I know you're probably tired of cryin but it's good to let your emotions out"

She couldn't contain the big tears anymore and started to sob. She clung to the teddy bear and bent over on the swing. Troy knew the young girl just needed a hug, and she probably hadn't gotten one since her mom died. He stood up, and knelt down in front of her, he started to gently rub her back. She wanted to crawl into his arms and be held, but she knew he wouldn't. Her daddy said she was too big for that now, she was in junior high.

Troy continued to rub her back and whispered some soothing words into her ear. The pain she was feeling just got too much for her and she slid off the swing and into the man's open arms. He sat on the ground for a while and just held the sobbing girl. This was the first time she felt safe enough to really let out her emotions and show how she truly felt. She just hoped her dad didn't find out about her crying like this, she knew he'd be mad.

The man started rocking her when the tears continued to fall. She clung to the teddy bear with one arm and buried her head in his shoulder. Troy stood up and continued to hold on to the crying girl. He walked around in the backyard with her for a few minutes hoping to soothe her. He didn't care if anyone heard or saw, his daughter's friend needed someone to hold her and comfort her, and to help her cope.

After a few more minutes he carried the young girl inside and Elizabeth gave him a concerned look, "everything okay?"

He just nodded, and continued to rub the preteen's back, "yeah, she just needs to cry a little" Cricket whimpered, she didn't think she needed to cry, but if Amanda's dad thought she did, he was probably right.

Elizabeth rubbed the little girl's back, "she wants to stay the night, and I really think it would be best for her right now. I'll call her daddy and let him know"

They saw the preteen nod and Troy smiled as his wife walked away and he went and sat on the couch. the black haired girl just cuddled into him and her hot tears continued to soak his shirt.

Elizabeth called Clint and was furious with his lack of interest in his daughter's emotions. He seemed to care less that his daughter was sobbing on Elizabeth's couch with Troy instead of her own father. Clint said that he would have his driver bring over a bag of Cricket's things so she could spend the night. The redheaded woman was also angry that he couldn't do it and come check on his daughter himself.

She went back to the living room where the sound of muffled sobs could still be heard. Her heart broke for the preteen but she knew her husband was doing the best he could to comfort their daughter's friend.

"how is she?" Elizabeth whispered.

"she's still just cryin. What'd her daddy say?" Troy replied, rubbing the young girl's shoulder.

"she could stay the night, he was gonna have somebody bring over her things." The woman explained.

The blond man sighed, and pulled the young girl closer to him. Cricket didn't seem to mind the affection she was getting and snuggled into Troy. Her tears were starting to slow down and she was starting to catch her breath. He continued rubbing her back as Elizabeth sat down on the other side of the couch.

Troy continued to rub Cricket's back and smiled when he noticed she was starting to calm down, "shhh, let's try some big deep breaths"

The preteen struggled with the first big breath but Troy told her to go a little slower and she was able to take a few steady deep breaths. She was tired from crying so much and wasn't sure if she would be able to sleep. She sat up and clutched her teddy bear, completely unsure of what she should do next.

Elizabeth put a gentle hand on her shoulder, "your daddy said you could stay here tonight, would you like that?"

Cricket just nodded, she liked staying with Amanda. Her parents were really nice and actually talked to her, and she was starting to become friends with Amanda's little sister.

Elizabeth smiled, "what can we make for dinner, pick whatever you want"

"Italian?" Cricket replied, sounding a little unsure of herself.

"alright, how does spaghetti sound?" the woman asked, still smiling.

"fine" the young girl answered, squeezing her teddy bear.

The two adults agreed to the girl's suggestion and Troy kept rubbing her back, "why don't you just hang out down here for a while, and try to calm down"

Cricket sighed, she actually felt better having Troy there to help her when she cried, before when she cried like she just did, her daddy would ignore her and tell her to go to her room. When she was at her friend's house, she got held, talked to, and often had someone with her the entire time she cried. "mmk" she mumbled, unsure of what she should do.

"you're probably kinda sleepy, huh…" the man asked, smiling. He was right, all the crying that she'd done made her exhausted.

She nodded, and hid a yawn. She just got a smile in return, "how about I put in a movie, and you can just rest for a little while"

She didn't want Troy to get up, he actually let her cuddle, and that was something she wanted from her father, but never got. All he got was a nod and he put in Cinderella, and sat back down with the young girl.

For the first few minutes of the movie she sat up on the couch and just held her bear. But when she realized that Troy wasn't going anywhere she slowly moved closer to him and started to relax.

Troy wrapped an arm around Cricket and she snuggled into him. She wished she could do things like this with her dad, but knew they would never happen. She let him wrap a fuzzy blanket around her and she sighed. He hugged her and she rested her head on his chest and was slowly losing interest in the singing mice on TV. Her eyes were fluttering closed and she was fighting to keep them open.

The blond man just rubbed her shoulder and smiled, "just close your eyes kiddo, you'll feel a little better after you take a nap"

Cricket let sleep take over and Troy left the movie on anyway, he figured his girls would be downstairs eventually and would want to watch something. He just held the preteen as she slept for a good twenty minutes and showed no signs of waking up. He thought that maybe she'd been struggling to sleep because of bad dreams, but they'd just have to wait and find out.

About ten minutes later, Amanda came down the stairs, she started saying something to her sleeping friend but the man quieted his daughter and said that Cricket just needed a break. The blond girl shot a mean glance at her friend and walked out of the room, paying no attention to the Disney movie playing. He hoped that Amanda didn't take this the wrong way and think that they would start to forget about her because of Cricket. That would never happen, Cricket just needed someone to hold and comfort her and Troy was the one who she allowed to get close. She just hoped Amanda didn't get mad at her for hanging around her parents every time she came over.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Well, this is yet another Cricket story. She's my favorite to write if you haven't figured that out yet. This is her life around when she's in junior high. Deals with what happened around the time her parents separated. Hope you guys enjoy! Please leave me a review and let me know! **

**TUESDAY AFTERNOON**

Cricket was struggling to concentrate in her last few classes of the day, history was not fun, she didn't really like the subject or her teacher, the woman was like her father and didn't care that her mom had died. The only good thing was that her friend Amanda was in the class with her.

Amanda had been giving her mean looks the last few days after she had the meltdown on her friend's father. Cricket just wanted someone to show her that they cared and Troy did that with no questions asked. Amanda yelled at her on Monday about it and Cricket had been avoiding her friend's house.

They had gotten some tests back that were given the day Cricket came back after the funeral, she was devastated and could barely concentrate that day. She wasn't surprised when she saw a low grade on her test. She shoved it in the folder and was happy when the bell rang. She went out to the drivers car and told them to just take her home. The man agreed, asked no questions and drove towards the Caruth residence.

Cricket hid her test score as long as possible until she opened her folder to do an assignment and saw where the test said that it needed to be signed. She sighed, maybe she could get the driver to forge her father's signature, but he'd tell her father. She waited until after dinner to show him the test. He was sitting downstairs reading when she crept into the living room, quietly placed the piece of paper on the table by him and hurried back upstairs.

"Cricket Caruth…" the man called, she exhaled, she'd been caught and knew it wasn't going to turn out in her favor.

"yes sir?" she asked, standing up straight and walking slowly back towards him.

"what is this?" he asked, picking up the test that had a big red D on the first page near her name.

She blinked, "a test… you need to sign it…."

"and is that because of this red letter marked next to your name?" he asked, his voice changing as he became angry.

The little girl nodded, afraid of her punishment. She didn't say anything, she knew better than to talk to her dad when he was upset.

"speak to me young lady, do I have to sign this because you made a bad grade?" the man asked, his voice deepening by the second.

"yes sir…." She mumbled again, avoiding eye contact.

Clint signs the test and hands it to his daughter, "that's the only one I will sign, understand"

Cricket nods, "yes sir… " she decided to try for some sympathy from her father and sighed, "that was the one right after momma's funeral… I couldn't concentrate"

The brunette can see the anger in her father's eyes for bringing up her mother, that topic was one that was left alone in the Caruth house, but it wasn't for Cricket's benefit.

"that's not an excuse, you still made a bad grade, and you know I don't accept anything lower than a B" the man explained.

Cricket decided to give up and just agreed, "I know, it won't happen again…"

Clint handed the paper back to his daughter and nodded, she ran back upstairs, upset that her father didn't take her reasoning, and was unsure why. She wanted to go to Amanda's so she could talk to Troy but Amanda was mad at her right now and she didn't want to deal with that on top of her daddy being mean.

She waited until her dad was in his room and slipped out of the house, he never really noticed where she went, unless the driver took her. She thought for a minute, she didn't want to go to Carlene, Blake was out of the question, so the only other option was her dad's friend Burl. He had always seemed like a really nice guy in church and decided he wouldn't care if she showed up. It took her a minute to remember which street he lived on but she finally found the house and slowly walked up to the front steps. It was nearing midnight and she was crying, with a duffle bag in one arm and her teddy bear in another. She rang the doorbell, hoping she didn't wake them up.

About five minutes later she was getting worried they didn't hear, but the older man opened his door and looked down to see the eleven year old standing there looking very upset. He sighed, he knew Clint's wife had died not too long ago and he wasn't aware of the true relationship his friend had with his daughter.

"Cricket, what happened?" he asked, worrying that maybe something happened to Clint, but then he noticed the bag at her feet and realized it may have been just a fight.

The preteen shrugged, and started to walk away but he caught up to her, and knelt down, "it's late, it's Dallas, and I don't want you roamin around alone this time of night, come on in…"

The young girl sighed, her father's friend was right, it was a bad idea for her to be wandering the streets at midnight. She just nodded and followed him in to the large house.

She was greeted by the warmth from the house and Bitsy's smile. Burl led her in and she was offered a warm blanket. She climbed up on the couch and Bitsy sat next to her, "Cricket, what's the matter…"

It was a rarity that the preteen showed up at their house, and when she did something was definitely wrong, especially if it was at midnight.

"daddy Bo got mad…" the young girl replied.

Bitsy sighed, "what happened to make him get mad?"

"I… made a D on a test…" the young girl began, she hid a few tears with a yawn and risked telling the second half of her story, "it was only cuz it was the day I went back to school after the funeral…."

Bitsy shot a worried glance to her husband and put a comforting hand on the young girl's shoulder. "what'd your daddy say about it?"

Cricket hung her head, "that there weren't any excuses for bad grades…"

Bitsy squeezed Cricket's shoulder, "what did your teacher say when you told her?"

"she didn't care…" the preteen replied, swallowing back tears.

Burl saw the brunette's eyes beginning to water and sat down on the other side of the couch. Cricket liked Burl, he was always a big teddy bear when her dad was cold and ignored her. Cricket avoided eye contact with both adults, her eyes were glassy and brimming with tears, she couldn't cry in front of them. Burl put his hand on her other shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze, "it's okay Cricket, just stay here for a little while, we'll sort things out"

The gentle touch was all it took for Cricket to break and she started to cry, Burl didn't have to pull her close, she threw herself on the man and rested her head in his chest. he wrapped an arm around the preteen and made sure she had her teddy bear.

He started to gently rub her back and whispered some soothing words in the young girl's ear. She continued to cry until her breathing evened out about ten minutes later, and she relaxed into him. Bitsy got up and glanced at Cricket's face, her cheeks were puffy and tearstained, her eyes were closed, but they were still puffy. She gave her husband a concerned look and noticed that the preteen had dropped a duffle bag by the door. She picked up the bag and whispered, "I'm gonna get her stuff set up in the guest room. Bring her up there when she's ready"

The man continued to rub the girl's back, "she's calm and she's sleepin here, I may just stay here with her a while" he felt Cricket snuggle into him more and her hand clutch onto a piece of his shirt.

The woman nodded, and fixed the blanket around the young girl. She decided they would deal with Clint when the time came, but for now, they needed to take care of Cricket.

About twenty minutes later Clint decided to go check on his daughter because it was too quiet and her shower never ran like it usually does. He went up the stairs and found her bed was still made, her backpack was gone, and a few things were missing from her counter. He was shocked, his daughter couldn't have ran away, she'd need the driver to get her somewhere.

He immediately called Elizabeth to see if Cricket was there, but she said she hadn't seen the young girl since Saturday morning. He knew his daughter didn't hang out with Carlene, and she wouldn't go to a boy's house. he thought of one other person, his friend Burl. He'd seen Cricket talk to him quite a bit before and right after the funeral. He dialed the man's number and hoped that he knew where his daughter was.

Burl sighed when he heard the phone ringing, he didn't want to move and wake up Cricket. He assumed that Bitsy had gotten it because she was talking angrily to the person on the other line. The preteen stirred in his arms after the phone rang. Burl continued to rub her back and she settled back down within minutes.

Bitsy was furious with Clint, he called demanding to know where his little girl was and Bitsy wasn't sure she should tell the man that his daughter was sleeping on their couch. She finally told him that the preteen was safe, and sound asleep, and they'd bring her to school the next day and then get her home. He was not happy, but Bitsy told herself that she would be there for Cricket to help her through these times.

It was now three AM and Burl was still on the couch with a sleeping Cricket and Bitsy was on the chair. The preteen started to squirm and whimper in Burl's arms and he started to rub her back and whispered a few calming words in her ear. She nestled back into him and Burl just smiled.

Her calmness didn't last very long and she started whimpering again, this time some warm tears were starting to soak Burl's shirt. The man knew she was having a nightmare and he ran his fingers through her tangled hair.

She just cried for a few minutes but then a word escaped her mouth that she wished she could take back, a loud "MOMMA" came through her sobs.

Bitsy's heart broke for the little girl, she was struggling to get over what had happened. Burl just squeezed the girl close in a hug and rubbed her back, "shhhh, Cricket"

The young girl shot up, "I have to get home…. Daddy Bo is gonna be so mad….."

Burl put a gentle hand on her shoulder, "relax, you can stay here, we've got it all taken care of"

Cricket shook her head, "he's already mad at me, I can't stay here"

The older man sighed and continued to rub the young girl's back, "Bitsy already talked to him while you were sleepin, he knows you're here and we'll get you to school in the mornin"

She just sighed, and glanced at the green light coming from the TV that read 3:30AM, once she saw this the exhaustion took over her again and she cuddled back in to Burl. "don't wanna go to school"

Bitsy sighed and thought that maybe school was difficult for her because she wasn't getting the support she needed from her teachers to cope with losing her mom. She knew that the wounds that were created that night were still open and even though they were emotional, it would take a very long time for her to heal.

"why don't you come lay down in bed upstairs, and we'll see how you're doin when it's time to get ready for school" Bitsy suggested.

The preteen whimpered and snuggled closer to Burl's side. He wrapped an arm around her and gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze, "I'll carry you kiddo, it's okay"

Cricket nodded and clung to the man. She still couldn't understand why Burl and Troy were so nice to her while her own father ignored her and didn't seem to care how she was feeling. Burl picked her up and carried her upstairs and started to lay her down on the bed in the guest room.

She whimpered and clung tighter to him. he sighed, the young girl just wanted to be held and comforted. He sat on the bed with her still in his arms and Bitsy covered her back up. Burl told Bitsy that she could go back to sleep, and that he'd watch Cricket for a while. The woman nodded and walked out of the room. Cricket snuggled close to Burl and was sleeping within minutes. Burl just held the brunette and wondered what was so wrong in Clint's eyes that he couldn't do this for her. He hoped that eventually things would work out for Cricket and it would get easier.

**A/N: Please review! I'd like to know what you guys want to see. **


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Well, this is yet another Cricket story. She's my favorite to write if you haven't figured that out yet. This is her life around when she's in junior high. Deals with what happened around the time her parents separated. Hope you guys enjoy! Please leave me a review and let me know! **

**THE NEXT MORNING **

**BURL & BITSY'S HOUSE **

Cricket slept through the rest of the night, and Burl wondered if it was because he was holding her. He knew the school started at eight, and he didn't have the heart to wake her when it was time to get ready. Bitsy came in and saw the little girl curled up against Burl's side and just sighed.

"maybe we should keep her out of school today" She whispered.

"that might be good, she probably needs it" the man replies, glancing down at the sleeping girl by his side.

"I'm gonna call the school… and see if they're even doing anything to help her" Bitsy tells him.

He nods, and sighs when Cricket starts squirming. He knows she's probably used to waking up this early and would do so out of habit.

The preteen mumbled a quiet word that the adults could barely pick up, "school…"

Burl sighed, "shhh, just sleep"

Cricket jumped when she heard these words, how late was it? had she slept all day? "gotta get to school…" she scrambled out of the bed and started digging through her duffle and found her dress.

Bitsy gave her husband a small smile and knelt down by Cricket, "Burl and I think it would be better if you stayed home today"

The preteen's eyes got wide and she shook her head, "I can't, daddy Bo will find out, he'll be mad, he's already mad. I have to get to school…"

Bitsy put her hands on the young girl's shoulders, "he knows you're here, we'll make sure he's not mad at you, alright"

Cricket just shrugged, and started to suck on her lip. She wasn't sure why she started doing that, but it kept her from crying. She realized she had a headache from crying herself to sleep, she thought that she could possibly use that as an excuse not to go to school, but she knew it never worked with her dad. She would only cry in her room late at night when she knew no one would hear. She was afraid to just tell Bitsy she had a headache, so she winced and put her hand on her forehead. She hoped the woman would notice and at least ask her what was wrong.

"is somethin botherin you sweetie?" the brunette woman asked.

Cricket nodded, "headache…"

Bitsy felt the preteen's forehead, she wasn't running a fever, but she knew that the girl had cried herself to sleep the night before, and had to be miserable. "go lay back down kiddo, I'm gonna get you some Tylenol, check your temp just in case, and I'm gonna call the school to let them know you're not comin"

Cricket sighed, she was sick just before her mom died and the nanny ended up taking care of her because her mom was always on her drugs. She threw her dress back on her bag and realized Burl was still sitting on the bed and climbed back into bed. She grabbed her teddy bear and curled up next to him.

Burl wrapped his arm around the young girl and gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze, "are you feelin okay?"

She buried her head in his chest, "headache"

He sighed and rubbed her shoulder. He smiled when he saw his wife come in with the Tylenol and a thermometer. She handed Burl the thermometer and he nodded, "Cricket, can we put this under your tongue to make sure you're not runnin a fever?"

The preteen just cooperated and kept her head rested on his chest. Burl took the thermometer when it beeped, "she's fine. I think the medicine and a little more sleep will help"

Bitsy nodded and Cricket took the pill from her. She gulped it down and snuggled close to Burl. Bitsy felt bad for the preteen, the only thing she wanted was to be comforted, and to be held. She grabbed a blanket and covered the young girl up. She mouthed to her husband that she was going to call the school. He nodded and brushed some tangled hair away from Cricket's eyes.

Bitsy was not happy with the school, they had not been given full notification that Cricket's mother had died. She knew that not very many people knew how things really were for Clint and his daughter so she decided to keep that out. She explained to the counselor that Cricket wasn't feeling well and she needed to stay home. She also explained about the test and gave Cricket's reasoning for her low grade, and the counselor said that wasn't out of the norm for a child who's been through a traumatic experience.

The counselor suggested she could meet with Cricket to talk about what was happening and to make sure she understood the events that had just happened. Bitsy agreed, though she was unsure if Clint would. She did say that Cricket's father hadn't been very sympathetic about anything recently and it was starting to take a toll on the young girl. The counselor told Bitsy that what her and Burl were doing was a good thing, because Cricket needed a way to vent and show her emotions.

Bitsy told the counselor she'd stay in touch and let her know how things went and that she would try talking to Cricket.

About an hour later Cricket started to stir in her sleep. She was used to being awake at this time of the morning and her body didn't want to sleep any more. She still had a little bit of a headache, but the medicine Bitsy had given her helped. She yawned and rubbed her eyes. Burl smiled, "did ya sleep good kiddo?"

She just shrugged, she wasn't sure. She was a little hungry though, since she didn't eat breakfast. She just looked to Burl, a little hesitant to ask.

"do you want some breakfast?" he asked, smiling.

She nodded, and Burl helped her into the kitchen. Bitsy was standing in the kitchen with a fresh cup of coffee and smiled when she saw Cricket, "are you hungry sweetie?"

The preteen nodded, and Bitsy smiled, "what would you like?"

"cereal…" the brunette yawned, and climbed up on the stool that was at the counter. Bitsy smiled and poured some cereal for the young girl who started to eat without thinking twice.

Burl made himself some coffee and sat next to Cricket. He could tell she was still tired by the way she was struggling to hold her head up. Bitsy noticed that Cricket's hair was matted and tangled, she knew that curly hair could be hard to tame, especially for a young girl.

She smiled, "how about you get cleaned up and I help ya with that hair"

Cricket just nodded and realized the only thing she brought to wear was her outfit for school. She also realized that her friends would be surprised that she was absent, since she never missed a day of school, except the ones right after her mom died. She finished her cereal and put the bowl in the sink. She went into the bathroom and noticed that Bitsy had set her things out on the counter so she grabbed them and took a shower. She decided she didn't feel like wearing her dress and put her pajamas back on. She sometimes hated her hair, it was a ratty tangled mess. She just sighed, it always looked so pretty when Amanda's mom did it but she couldn't go over there right now since Amanda was mad at her.

Bitsy came in and smiled, and noticed that Cricket was playing with some wet strands of her hair, and looked unsure about what to do with it.

About twenty minutes later Cricket just smiled, she had smooth curls in her hair again and she wished they'd stay that way. Bitsy knelt down to her level, "if there's anything on your mind that you wanna talk about, it's okay"

Cricket sighed and contemplated the woman's offer. "I didn't mean to fail that test…" she quietly said.

Bitsy squeezed her hand, " I know, and I talked to your counselor, she said it was normal for something like to happen after what you've been through"

Cricket just sighed, she didn't know that. and she didn't understand why it had made her father so angry. "my dad didn't think so"

Bitsy gave her a small smile, "what does he think?"

"there aren't any excuses for bad grades… he won't talk bout momma…." The little girl shyly replied.

"do you want to talk about your momma?" the woman asked, she knew Cricket had to be confused as to what really happened. She wasn't getting the support she needed to heal, and it was taking a toll on the young girl.

Cricket shrugged, she wasn't sure what she could say about her mom. She got yelled at and told to go to her room every time she brought up her mom, or a couple tears pricked her eyes. "I dunno"

Bitsy gave her hand a gentle squeeze, "you can talk about it with me, I won't get mad"

Cricket didn't understand why she always wanted to cry, she didn't used to be that way, and she was really good at not crying. But lately she would just randomly feel the tears sneak up on her and she figured out that sucking on her bottom lip helped make them go away. So that's what she did, her bottom lip went in her mouth and she started to gnaw on it.

Bitsy noticed the little girl was chewing on her lip, and sighed, "honey, you can cry"

Cricket couldn't take it any more and closed her eyes. the tears started to stream down her face and Bitsy wrapped her in a hug. When she was at home, she just clung to her teddy bear and waited for the tears to go away.

Bitsy noticed that the preteen was already desperately trying to make her tears go away. "just let it out, it's okay to cry"

Cricket whimpered and snuggled closer to Bitsy, and started to sob. Bitsy felt bad for the young girl, all she wanted was someone to show her a little love, but she had to work so hard to get it. Bitsy thought that maybe this was finally Cricket's breaking point and everything the young girl was holding in just got too much for her to handle and she needed someone to help her get through it and understand everything.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Well, this is yet another Cricket story. She's my favorite to write if you haven't figured that out yet. This is her life around when she's in junior high. Deals with what happened around the time her parents separated. Hope you guys enjoy! Please leave me a review and let me know! **

**LATER THAT AFTERNOON **

**HILLSIDE PARK JUNIOR HIGH **

Clint sighed as he parked his car in one of the visitor spaces at Cricket's school. He didn't realize how much his daughter was struggling with losing her mom until he called Bitsy and she said that Cricket had done nothing but cry since she got to their house. He thought that since she wasn't showing much emotion she was fine, and didn't need him to help her. he still thought that was true, but after talking to Elizabeth he found out that when Cricket was spending time with Amanda she often broke down and cried there as well.

He still had a hard time showing her that he cared when she was upset, and deep down he knew it broke his heart when he heard her muffled sobs late at night, but since Delilah was gone he wasn't sure what to do to comfort his eleven year old, since that was always her job. He knew it wasn't the smartest decision, having his wife always handle the deeper things. He just wasn't sure how to deal with a girl, since he'd never really been around them when he was growing up.

He decided to talk to the counselor to see how his daughter was really doing in school, since she'd done poorly on one test, he was curious if her explanation really was true.

He sighed and knocked on the door, he'd called earlier and the counselor seemed more than willing to talk to him, he had a feeling either Bitsy or Elizabeth had put a call in earlier than he did. A few seconds later the door opened and a blond woman answered the door, "Hello Mr. Caruth… come on in"

He smiled, and sat down in one of the green leather chairs in the office. "good to see you again…" the last time he saw the woman was when he registered his daughter for school, this was only her sixth grade year, so it hadn't been very long.

"what's been going on with Cricket lately?" the woman asked.

Clint sighed, "her mom died about a month ago, and I know she's really struggling"

"how has she been acting at home?" the woman asked, pulling Cricket's file from her drawer.

Clint thought for a minute, but decided to just tell the woman what he knew, "she's pretty quiet, she likes to spend a lot of time by herself, but at night I do hear her cryin, she probably thinks I don't hear her, but I do"

"how many nights have you heard her cry?" the blond asked him, she'd never seen Cricket cry at school, so she was worried.

"every night she's home, and I know that when she spends time with her friend Amanda she cries over there too, Amanda's mom talked to me earlier this week" he explained, it wasn't until now that he realized how much his daughter had been crying. It made his heart break for her because he knew he had done nothing to comfort her.

"does anything help her calm down when she's upset?" the counselor asked.

Clint sighed, "I've never tried. My wife was always the one to calm her when she was upset and she was really close to Cricket. I'm pretty sure Amanda's mom has tried but I'm not sure what I can really do to help her"

"Cricket might be crying so much because she wants your attention, she's hurting and it may be the only way she feels comfortable telling you. she needs to build a relationship with you like she had with her mom, so she can start to heal" the woman explained.

Clint thought for a minute, he felt bad now for yelling at her when she tried to explain to him about the test. "I got really mad at her last night, she didn't do as well as I thought she would on a test, and tried to blame it on her mother's funeral…"

"that's normal for kids that go through traumatic experiences, they struggle to get back into their normal routines, and she really needs you to be supportive of her right now, she needs someone to listen"

The man just sighed, he really screwed up with her the other night and now she was most likely crying at Bitsy's house. "I made a huge mistake and told her that wasn't an excuse for her bad grade. She ran off to on of my really good friend's houses. I know she was probably thinking I didn't hear her leave, but I did, I just thought she needed some space"

"your friend called this morning, she told me about the test, and that Cricket wasn't feeling up to coming to school today. She's crying for some attention, and for some help to get through this" the woman explained.

"what should I do to help her get through this?" he asked, he knew he needed to make things better with his daughter, but he was afraid it was a lost cause at this point.

"the best thing to do would be to apologize, she needs to know that she isn't the one at fault. Let her cry, but there should be a time where you comfort her and help her dry her tears. Listen to what she has to say… she needs to know she can trust you like she trusted her momma" the woman explained.

"she might not listen to me at first, I know I've really upset her" he told the woman.

"she can come talk to me whenever she wants, I can help her understand what's been happening and work with her to make sure she feels comfortable expressing her feelings" the woman offered.

"alright, I'll let her know. And I'll give you a call when I talk to her… I hate to cut this short but I've got a meeting at work I have to get to" he said, standing up.

"that's fine, I actually have a meeting as well. I know you have my number, so call me when you talk to her" she said, smiling as he left the room.

Clint sighed, he didn't realize how much his daughter was hurting and he wanted to try to make things better for her, but he knew it would be hard. he'd been so cold when she needed him the most and he wasn't sure if she would believe him. he called the office and rescheduled the meeting, he had a much more important thing to take care of. Normally he would never reschedule work because of Cricket but part of him thought that because he always did that it upset her. he knew he'd never find out though.

He knew his daughter loved stuffed animals, even though she sometimes hid it. He drove to the toy store and picked up a fluffy white puppy, it was a little bigger than the ones she had, he thought it would be better for her to hold when she was sleeping.

He sat the toy in the passenger seat of his truck and headed to Burl's house. He called the man to let him know he was coming and he was warned that his daughter was not happy and unwilling to talk. He parked in front of the large house and grabbed the stuffed animal from the passenger seat as he headed to the door. His friend let him in and smiled a little when he saw that Clint had brought Cricket a stuffed animal.

He heard the sounds of Full House coming from the TV in the living room and knew that's where his daughter was. He sighed and made his way to the living room. His daughter was still in her pajamas, hugging a pillow and staring at the TV.

He slowly walked towards her and smiled, "Cricket…"

His heart sank when she jumped at the sound of her name, she was definitely afraid and upset, and he knew it was his fault. The only response he got was a whimper.

He sat on the coffee table facing her and sat the puppy on his lap. "it's daddy, I'm not mad anymore, and I wanna try this again" he calmly told her.

"no" she replied, and pouted.

"I know you really like stuffed animals, I found you a new one today at the toy store…" he coaxed, hoping she'd open up.

Her attention was drawn to his lap, and her eyes lit up at the sight of the large stuffed dog. He smiled, and thought about giving it to her with the condition of her talking but he decided against it and thought it could give her the courage she needed to talk. "it's okay, you can take it"

She grabbed the big dog and squeezed it. "what's this for? I failed that test…."

He sighed, he tried to figure out the best way to apologize to her, "it's because I'm sorry. I didn't listen to you, and I should have"

She just looked at the puppy, and then to her dad. She was confused still, he never listened to her, and she didn't know why he was apologizing. "you never listen"

He really hated that his daughter felt this way about him, he realized the number of times he told her that Caruths didn't cry, that she was supposed to be strong and by doing that it meant hiding her emotions, and that he wished she were a boy. Although he knew that it would be hard to fully mend their relationship he could at least try. He knew now that she never cried in public because she was simply a Caruth and that was something they didn't do.

"I'm going to start listening, I'm your daddy, and I don't want you to be scared to cry in front of me" he told her.

"but you told me I couldn't…." she bit back.

"I know I said that, and I'm sorry. I can hear you cryin at night kiddo, and I know you think I don't" he told her, he had a feeling that because she cried so much she was always so tired in the mornings.

"sorry…" she mumbled, looking away.

He sighed, he wanted things to start changing between them. "no kiddo, you're not the one that needs to apologize. You can be sad, and you can tell me when you are"

"I tried…." She quietly told him.

"when hon?" he really didn't know when his daughter was trying to let him know how much she was hurt.

"when I cried! Amanda's daddy hugs me and holds me when I cry, and makes the tears go away, so does Burl. Why don't you?!" she yelled.

He felt bad, all his little girl wanted was a hug and he couldn't give that to her. "kiddo, your momma always did that, but now I'm not really sure what makes you feel better when you're sad. Do you think that's something we can work on?"

She was surprised, not only because he mentioned her mom, but she actually thought he was being honest. "I only wanted a hug…." She whimpers, giving him the saddest eyes, his heart was breaking for her, he pushed her away when she needed to be held and comforted, but he had no idea that was how his daughter was.

He stood up, "come here pretty girl"

She couldn't help but let a small smile escape, her dad often called her pretty girl when she got all dressed up and was in her cheer uniform, it was usually when they were actually out somewhere though. But never at home.

She hesitantly wrapped her arms around him, she only came to right at his waist so it wasn't the best hug she could get but it was better than nothing. He smiled and put his hands under her arms, and picked her up. She squirmed a bit but he settled her so that she was resting her head on his shoulder and he had a hand on her back.

He sat on the couch with her and started rubbing her back, "daddy's got you hon"

He smiled when his daughter relaxed into him, and even though he could feel a few tears starting to soak his shirt, he knew now that turning her away wouldn't do anything to help her. "shhh, it's okay"

Bitsy smiled at him and put Cricket's cheer duffle at the foot of the stairs so that when she was ready to go home all they had to do was put it in the car. Cricket was clinging to her dad, she wasn't sure how long this would last, and when he would turn into the cold, uncaring man that he usually was.

Clint could feel her clutching onto his shirt for dear life, and sighed. He kept rubbing her back and when he looked over he realized she'd drifted off to sleep. he grabbed his phone and called the office again, telling the secretary to clear his afternoon. He simply said that Cricket wasn't feeling well, and he needed to stay home with her. He stood up and grabbed the teddy bear that had been neglected when she took the puppy from him, and went into the kitchen and thanked Bitsy for looking after her the night before.

He gently put his sleeping daughter in the front passenger seat and buckled her up, she whimpered and clutched her stuffed animal when she realized he was no longer holding her. he kissed her forehead and rubbed her shoulder and she settled into the car seat. He threw the duffle in the back and sighed when he got in and saw her, even though she was asleep he could tell she was upset. He wanted to try talking to her when she woke up, but he knew it would be difficult.

**A/N: I know Clint may seem a little OOC here. Even though his and Cricket's relationship isn't perfect, he probably tried to mend it when she was younger, but didn't get very far. Please review and let me know what you think! **


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Well, this is yet another Cricket story. She's my favorite to write if you haven't figured that out yet. This is her life around when she's in junior high. Deals with what happened around the time her parents separated. Hope you guys enjoy! Please leave me a review and let me know! **

**CARUTH HOME **

Clint had carried his sleeping daughter to her bed and covered her up. He stood there for a few minutes to make sure she was sleeping and quietly closed her door when he left.

He went to make a few business calls and decided that he'd check on Cricket a few hours later. She had woken up and was sitting on her bed, holding the stuffed dog. He walked closer to her and sat on the end of the bed. "hey kiddo"

"how'd I get home?" she asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

Clint smiled, "I brought you home, I took the afternoon off to get you from Burl's"

Cricket was surprised, her dad never took off work for her, except the day after her mother's funeral since she was just too upset to go to school. He'd missed a few cheer competitions and dance recitals because of work but never missed work because she'd been upset. She just sighed, "oh…"

He wanted to talk to her but he didn't want to bluntly ask her why she ran off the night before. he wanted to try to ease into the conversation but he knew it would be hard for her because of the way he'd treated her before.

"did you sleep good hon?" he asked.

She shrugged, and yawned. "I guess so"

"can we talk about the test? I know I should have listened to you, so I want you to try again and explain it to me" he suggested, hoping she would be willing to give him a second chance.

She shrugged at first, her teacher had smiled and let her keep the test when she brought it back with her father's angry signature on the page. She got up and dug through her backpack to find the wrinkled piece of paper and sat back on her bed, "I'm sorry…"

He sighed, he realized his actions the first time she showed him had left an impression on her that it was her fault for making a bad grade. "sweetheart, remember, I told you that you don't have to be sorry for that"

She just sighed, "but why? there's no excuses for bad grades… you told me that"

He took the paper and sighed, "kiddo, your counselor explained to me that when kids go through scary things, like you did, it's normal for them to make lower grades than they usually do. I didn't know that before I talked to her"

She just looked at him, she was surprised he talked to her counselor. "why'd you talk to my counselor?!"

"hon I knew you were sad, and I knew things haven't been easy for you… I wanted to know what to do to help you get better" he explained.

She sighed, and hung her head. All the nights she sobbed in her room, hoping for him to come and hold her, and she still just wanted to be held, but she didn't think he realized it. "you can't" she mumbled.

He flipped through the pages of his daughter's test, he realized he should have just talked through it with her, he knew she was good at history, she just randomly circled things because she was distracted. "sweetheart, come here… I wanna show ya somethin"

She hesitated but slowly crawled over to him, "what?"

He picked up the test and held it where she could see it, "kiddo, I know you know this stuff… it looks like ya just circled whatever you felt like"

She hung her head, he was right. She couldn't read a question without tears pricking her eyes and she just circled something so she could finish the test. She had an A in her history class before her mom died, and she was really upset that she blew her test. He noticed his daughter becoming embarrassed, but gently squeezed her shoulder. She just decided to nod, since she was a little scared to say much.

"if that's what you did it's okay, you were really sad that day" he explained, rubbing her back.

"I didn't even wanna go to school but I knew you wouldn't listen to me so I just went anyways" she cried.

He knew that she had a really rough night after the funeral and he should have made sure she was feeling like going to school, but he didn't and treated it like a normal morning.

He kept rubbing her back, "I'm sorry, you could have said somethin sweetie"

She just sighed, she didn't get why he was being nice. Her dad's friends were always nice to her, no matter what, and he was only nice to her when he felt like it. "really?"

He continued rubbing her back, "yeah, I probably shoulda kept you home that day"

She blinked her tears back, she wanted to talk to him about her mom, everyone else tried to explain it to her, but he never did. She was afraid to ask him anything about her mom, since she was still afraid of his reaction.

He knew she sometimes screamed for her mom at night and it broke his heart, he thought maybe she didn't understand what had happened and thought maybe she would come for her if she called. He just wasn't sure how to talk to his daughter about what had happened about a month ago.

He did finally notice the tears falling from her eyes and for once he gently squeezed her shoulder and pulled her close, "tell me what's wrong kiddo"

She was still too scared to tell him that she missed her mom, and wanted to talk about it. She whimpered, and was a little surprised when he pulled her close and kept rubbing her back. She just continued to cry, she was getting tired of crying so much all the time but she felt like it was her only way of telling him how she was feeling.

She decided to try telling him why she cried, unsure of what his reaction would be. it took her a few minutes to decide what to say but all that she could get out was a mumbled, "momma"

He sighed. This was when he realized that crying and calling for Delilah had been a daily thing for his daughter because she never got any answers. But what he wasn't prepared for was when she nearly screamed at him, "I WANT MOMMY"

He sighed, and gulped back his own tears. He knew she was young, but he thought she understood what had happened. He knew Delilah almost always went to Cricket when she called for her, and that the sudden change of having no one come was probably upsetting, and confusing.

He held his daughter close, "shhh sweetie, daddy's got you"

Cricket was confused as to why she was finally being held, but she wasn't going to complain, or ask because she didn't want him to leave her. It took her a while to calm down but her sobs finally reduced to whimpers, and she was still holding onto her father because she didn't want him to leave her.

Clint wanted to do something to help his daughter feel better, but he wasn't sure what. He knew she needed something, she was really missing her mother and he'd been slacking trying to help her. She'd been quiet in his arms so he thought that just holding her was enough, but he had a feeling it wasn't. "what can daddy do to make things better?"

She was a little bit surprised by his question, but decided to take a chance. It took her a while to come up with something, but she'd always wanted him at her cheer competitions, at least one time. Now that her mom was gone she thought he had to, but she knew he'd come up with some excuse as to why he couldn't. "come to my competition this weekend…. And actually stay" she quietly told him.

Clint was a little hurt that she knew he never stayed the whole time, and he sometimes missed her team perform, but at least he showed up. And he thought that's what mattered. He wasn't sure if Cricket was even up for the competition, but he wasn't going to push it. "you sure you wanna cheer this weekend? I was thinkin about takin you to ride the horses"

"I wanna do it, they won't be able to do the routine without me…." she told him.

he just rubbed her shoulder, "alright, maybe we can ride horses after the competition"

"really?" she looked at him, and was actually surprised he was offering to spend time with her.

"yeah, might be good to get ya outta this house for a while" he told her.

"you'll be distracted with work like you always are" she quietly mumbled, he would try to do something with her and he'd be constantly on the phone with someone about work. it was one of her main reasons for not wanting to spend time with him.

He sighed, "it'll be a Saturday sweetie, I can tell the secretary to make sure nobody calls me"

She tried really hard to believe him, but she just couldn't. the only way she'd actually believe him was if he did what he said. She just leaned into him and sighed, she really wanted his attention more than anything.

Clint hoped that taking his daughter to ride for most of the afternoon on Saturday would help her relax and trust him a little more. He knew she loved the horses, but he never took her out there enough.

He just continued to hold her when the only response he got was a nod. He knew he would have to work really hard to help her build up her trust in him, but he really wanted to try.

**A/N: I really hope you guys like this! I'm always open to suggestions. I'm just busy with school right now, first round of tests are this week so I'm trying to study as much as possible. **


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Well, this is yet another Cricket story. She's my favorite to write if you haven't figured that out yet. This is her life around when she's in junior high. Deals with what happened around the time her parents separated. Hope you guys enjoy! Please leave me a review and let me know! **

**CARUTH HOME **

**SATURDAY MORNING **

Clint really wanted to make this day special for Cricket, since she never really got to spend a day with just him. He had made her breakfast, and was about to go wake her up when he heard her crying from behind the door. He opened it and gently knocked, "hey kiddo"

She tensed up and sighed when she heard her dad's voice. "sorry"

He walked into her room and realized she was already in her blue cheer uniform but her unruly hair was hanging in her face and she was holding a brush. He sighed, he knew Delilah had always done her hair but this was the first competition that she wasn't here for. He was mad at himself for not realizing this and not planning ahead to call Elizabeth.

"what's the matter hon?" he asked, walking closer.

"I dunno how to do my hair…." she whimpered. He almost told her that it wasn't worth crying over but he decided not to.

He sat by her, "why don't I call Amanda's momma and have her come by and fix it for ya?"

She shrugged, Amanda was still mad at her for always wanting to be around her parents, and she didn't know what to do about it. "whatever" was all she could think of to reply. 

He rubbed her back, "I know she'll help ya fix it, she does a good job when ya come home with it all curly"

She was a little surprised, her dad never noticed when Elizabeth did her hair, and it hurt. "Manda's mad at me…." she sighed, she didn't know what to do and she just wanted her friend back.

"why's she mad?" he asked, he couldn't think of a reason that Amanda would be mad at his daughter.

"she said somethin bout how I was stealin her momma and daddy…" Cricket explained, with beady tears in her eyes.

"what'd she mean by that?" Clint thought it had something to do with the fact that Elizabeth said Cricket got really upset all the time she was there, but he wasn't sure.

Cricket shrugged, "I dunno" She was kinda confused when Amanda said that, Elizabeth and Troy were just nice to her.

He rubbed her back, "it'll be okay, how about you come see what's for breakfast and I'll call Elizabeth and see what's goin on"

She realized she was hungrier than she was when she got up and nodded. She didn't hesitate to eat the chocolate chip pancakes her dad had set out for her, and Clint stepped aside to call Elizabeth. The woman agreed to come help Cricket get ready and she promised Clint she would talk to Amanda.

By the time Clint came back in the pancakes were gone from his daughter's plate and he smiled, "she's gonna come do your hair hon, and she'll talk to Amanda about what you told me"

Cricket just nodded, and walked off to her room. About ten minutes later Clint let Elizabeth in the house and told her Cricket was in her room. The redheaded woman smiled, and made her way to the young girl's room. She gently opened the door and sighed, Cricket was on her bed clutching her teddy bear. "hey"

The preteen sighed, "hey Mrs. Stopper…."

"your daddy told me you needed some help with your hair" she said, smiling.

Cricket just nodded, and got up and grabbed her brush and some blue ribbons. Elizabeth smiled and started gently brushing the preteens long hair. Cricket was quiet but Elizabeth could see the beady tears that she was struggling to hold in. "what's buggin you kiddo?"

"momma won't be there…." She quietly mumbled.

Elizabeth squeezed her shoulder, "I know, but your daddy will. And I'm gonna make sure he stays the whole time and doesn't answer his phone"

"really?" Cricket asked, squeezing her bear.

"yeah, I know you want him to watch ya" Elizabeth said, starting to braid one side of Cricket's hair.

"mmk…" she mumbled.

Elizabeth knew the young girl was still upset and just let her be while she finished the braids. "are ya all ready?"

Cricket just nodded, but she was still struggling to hide her tears. She didn't know how well she'd do without her momma there, she never missed a single competition. "yeah…"

Elizabeth knew Cricket well enough to know that something wasn't right. "you sure?" she gently asked, she didn't want to force the young girl to talk.

Cricket shook her head and hugged Elizabeth. The redheaded woman knelt down to Cricket's level and rubbed her back, "what's wrong hon?"

"I can't do it…" she whimpered. She wasn't sure if she even wanted to go, but her daddy had promised to take her riding after the competition, so she was gonna do it anyways.

"what can't you do kiddo?" Elizabeth asked, still rubbing Cricket's back.

"the competition…" she mumbled. She was just way too scared to tell anyone about it and was going to pretend that she was okay, but Elizabeth being there made her want to open up.

Elizabeth sat on the floor with Cricket and held her hands, "I know you're upset about not havin your momma here, but I know you're gonna do just fine. I bet she's gonna be watchin ya"

Cricket looked at Elizabeth like she was crazy, her mom was dead. "how….."

The older woman sighed, "even though she's not here anymore she's still gonna be watchin over ya. Maybe if you pretend like she's there you'll do a great job, like you always do"

Cricket thought for a minute, she often pretended her dad was in the audience, so she might as well pretend her mom was there too. She worked so hard incase her dad was there, to make him proud. "I guess… sometimes I pretend my daddy's there when I know he's not"

Elizabeth squeezed the preteen's hands, "he's gonna be there today. And it's gonna be just fine. I heard he's takin you to see the horses later"

Cricket nodded, she wasn't sure what that was gonna be like. "yeah"

"I bet that'll be fun. But we've gotta do this competition first before that. its gonna be okay" the woman calmly said, trying to reassure Cricket that she could do the competition.

The preteen sighed, "I guess so…"

Elizabeth helped her up and hugged her, "it's gonna be just fine, I can talk to your daddy if ya want me to"

Cricket just shrugged, and grabbed her duffle for the competition and her bag for the ranch later. "got everything?" Elizabeth asked.

The preteen nodded, and forced a smile. They made their way downstairs and Clint was waiting on the couch. He got up and smiled when he saw his daughter struggling with both bags. He took one from her and smiled, "Hey pretty girl, you ready?"

She just nodded and walked away, towards the garage. Elizabeth sighed, "she's missin Delilah, she also told me that she sometimes pretends you're in the audience watchin her, so I really think it would be best if you stayed the whole time"

He sighed, "I'm going to. does she have her stuff for the ranch? I think we might stay out there tonight. She needs to be outta this house for a while"

"yeah, I think she's a little apprehensive about that though… she doesn't know if it's really gonna happen"

He sighed again, he knew he'd made empty promises to his daughter before, and he hoped he could change that now, she needed to know she could trust him. "I'm takin her. I told her I wouldn't take any calls from work"

Later that afternoon Cricket's competition was over and they had won, it wasn't the first time they won but it was the first time Clint had seen his daughter's team perform. He smiled when his daughter ran over to him, the bright blue bows bouncing in her hair. "hey kiddo, you did great"

She shuffled her feet a little, she was taken by surprise by that compliment. She wasn't sure if he was just saying that to have something to say or if he actually meant it.

He sighed, he knew this was hard for her, but he hoped it would get better. He knelt down by her and smiled, "why don't we go get something to eat, anything you want, and then we'll go to the ranch…"

She just nodded, "Italian?"

Clint smiled, and squeezed her shoulder, "alright kiddo, I want you to try takin a nap in the car so we can ride a little bit tonight"

She tried to hide a yawn and nodded, it kept her from having to talk to him so she was definitely going to be sleeping on the way to the ranch. She hoped things wouldn't get worse between her and her dad. She loved seeing her horses so she was happy to go to the ranch. She just sighed as she walked to her dad's truck and climbed in.

**A/N: Sorry it's been a while! But real life got in the way and I don't want to study for midterms. I hope you guys like this! **


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Well, this is yet another Cricket story. She's my favorite to write if you haven't figured that out yet. This is her life around when she's in junior high. Deals with what happened around the time her parents separated. Hope you guys enjoy! Please leave me a review and let me know! **

**HILLSIDE JUNIOR HIGH  
MONDAY MORNING  
**

Amanda had found out quickly that Cricket got to spend the rest of the weekend at the ranch with her daddy, and it made her angry. She and cricket got into a fight and Amanda decided that Cricket wasn't allowed to spend time with her anymore because she was always stealing her parents. This really upset Cricket and she tried really hard to hide it in as she walked away to her next class.

About halfway through her class Cricket was struggling to concentrate and she was really tired because she and her dad had gotten back really late the night before. She put her head down on her desk and struggled to stay awake. A few minutes later she didn't realize she'd let out a small whimper because she was upset about what had happened with Amanda. Her teacher came by her desk and gently rubbed her back, "Cricket…"

The preteen jumped at the touch and shot up. A few kids started to laugh and a tear pricked her eye. "sorry…" she sighed, and looked down at her worksheet.

"what's wrong Cricket?" the woman asked, she knew what the young girl had been through and she could see that Cricket was really struggling.

The preteen sniffled and her teacher continued to rub her back. Cricket finally looked up at the woman but the words wouldn't come. Her best friend had basically said they weren't friends anymore and she wasn't sure why. She usually went to Delilah if she was fighting with Amanda but she couldn't do that anymore and she just wanted her mom.

Her teacher could see the sadness and confusion in the young girl's face and sighed, "come outside with me for a minute so we can talk"

Cricket just sighed and followed her teacher out into the hallway. She just wanted a hug from her mom, but she would never get one. She knew she couldn't talk to Elizabeth and Troy either because Amanda was mad at her. She was struggling not to cry because her dad had said it wasn't right to cry in public. "I…I'm fine…."

"you sure?" the blond woman asked, she could tell Cricket was really struggling and needed a friend.

Cricket just couldn't hold in her tears anymore and let out a sob. Her teacher took her hands and squeezed them. "it's okay Cricket, you can talk to me"

She wasn't sure if she could say she wanted her mom. Her dad often got mad when she did, so she just decided not to. "'Manda…. Said…. We're not friends anymore" she whimpered. It was part of why she was upset but she just couldn't tell the whole truth.

Her teacher sighed, that was the last thing Cricket needed, to lose her mom and best friend. "did she tell you why?"

The preteen just shook her head. She didn't really think that she had done anything wrong. So she was really upset. Her teacher was glad she'd remembered that she had Amanda the next class period and she would talk to the girl. "n…no" Cricket whimpered.

"well, I have Amanda in my next class. I'm gonna talk to her and see if she'll tell me why, alright" the blond woman suggested.

Cricket just nodded, and hung her head. She was really tired, upset, and confused. "mmk"

Her teacher knelt down and looked up at her, "what else is wrong kiddo?"

She couldn't help the big yawn that escaped, and she just cried more. Her teacher could tell she was having a really hard time, so she wrapped the dark haired girl in a hug. Cricket just crumbled when her teacher hugged her and she continued to sob.

One of Cricket's other teachers was walking down the hallway and heard the young girl's sobs. She sighed when she saw how upset Cricket was. She walked up to her teacher, "everything okay?"

"I'll explain later. Watch my class for me, I'm gonna take her down to the nurse so she can calm down" Cricket's teacher replied, rubbing the young girl's back. The teacher nodded and went into the classroom.

Cricket whimpered, "don't take me to the nurse"

"you'll feel better, you need some rest" the woman replied.

The young girl just sighed and gave in. She wasn't in the mood to argue and let her teacher guide her to the nurses office. Cricket regretted her decision when she saw Mrs. Reilly sitting at the desk. She forgot Blake's mom worked at the school, and she'd tell her daddy that she was crying at school.

The woman smiled, "hey Cricket, what's goin on?"

The preteen just looked down at her feet and shrugged, but her teacher explained things to the woman and she nodded. Her teacher smiled at her, "we just want you to lay down for a few minutes, alright. it's gonna be okay"

Cricket sat down on one of the beds and started swinging her feet back and forth. All she wanted was her mom but she wasn't going to ever get that. Her teacher mentioned something about bringing her backpack to the office but she didn't really pay attention as the woman was leaving.

Mrs. Reilly sat down by Cricket, "what happened kiddo?"

Cricket just shrugged, "'Manda's mad at me, and I don't really know why….."

"what did she say to you?" the woman asked, handing the young girl a tissue.

"that… I was stealing her momma…. And I couldn't hang out with her anymore…." Cricket didn't quite understand what Amanda meant by that, but Elizabeth was always so nice to her that she wanted to be around the woman when she was having a bad day.

The woman just sighed, "you're not stealing her momma. Blake told me you hang out at Amanda's all the time and I know you talk to her momma at church a lot"

"but now I can't…." Cricket cried. All she wanted was a mom, and she knew her dad wouldn't find someone new.

"yeah, you can. But do you wanna try tellin me what's on your mind now?" the woman asked.

Cricket gulped, she wasn't sure what kind of reaction she'd get when she said she missed her mom, but she was gonna try anyways. "I… miss my momma…."

The nurse sighed, she now knew why Cricket was having such a hard time. She wrapped an arm around the young girl, "have you told anyone else that?"

Cricket shook her head no. Her daddy got so mad when she brought it up, she didn't know why. "daddy Bo gets mad…."

The older woman sighed, she would be calling Clint as soon as she calmed Cricket down. The young girl was grieving and needed to know that her father cared enough. "what does he do when he's mad?" Christine was a little worried, she didn't think Clint would ever lay a hand on his daughter, but since she was a school nurse, she had to be sure.

Cricket just cries, "yells. Tells me it doesn't matter and she's just gone"

Christine decided that Cricket had never been back to the gravesite to see her mom. She thought that it might help the preteen if she did go to see that there was somewhere she could visit her mom. She also had a feeling Clint hadn't explained that concept to the young girl either, and it was a big part of why she was so upset.

She just rubbed the preteen's back, "shhh, that's not true. It's okay to be sad, and to miss her. it's okay to share your feelings, so we can help you"

Cricket clung to the woman, when she was mad at Amanda or upset about something her mom would just hold her and they'd watch a Disney movie. She missed that, and she felt a lot better when Amanda's dad let her watch Cinderella with him. She thought maybe Blake's mom would do the same thing, but she knew there wasn't a TV in the nurse's office, and she needed to go back to class.

The woman knew the young girl was hurting, so she just held her. She started to gently rock the young girl in hopes of calming her down. Cricket missed being held by her mom she decided she wasn't going to fight and let Christine hold her. She was finally able to stop crying but then she realized she was so tired from crying. She rested her head on Christine's shoulder and whimpered.

Christine smiled when she realized Cricket was starting to calm down, but she continued to hold the young girl, just so she wouldn't be upset again. Cricket leaned into the woman and closed her eyes. She didn't want to talk anymore and just wanted to sleep without a bad dream. The woman could tell that Cricket just needed some rest and attention.

She brushed Cricket's hair away from her eyes and started rubbing her back. A few minutes later she looked down at Cricket's face and realized the young girl was asleep. She stayed with her for about ten minutes and then laid her down and covered her up.

She wanted to call Clint, but she wasn't sure if she should with Cricket sleeping so close. She just sighed, and continued to do some paperwork, while she watched the young girl sleep.

**A/N: Sorry about the wait, I've been busy with school. But I realized this chapter was nearly done so I decided to go ahead and finish it! **


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